Chapter Thirteen

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*This chapter brings the story's rating up to PG-13 all because Gabby's got a potty mouth. Bad Gabby.*

Okay, so Gina having wings? Way cool. I stood on the rooftop wondering if I should have said or done something differently. By telling her to fly high above buildings, was I only encouraging her to fly to San Fransisco, where the show 'Charmed' took place? If I hadn't pretended to believe her, would she have attepted to jump as a defence mechanism, hoping her wings would come out in mid-fall? Where would she be in an hour? Two? Would she still be in the state? How fast can she fly? I walked back down the stairs when I felt some snow fall on my cheeks, and I found I wasn't dressed for the occasion. It was quiet in the school now. No one screamed or ran or sang or destroyed things. No one was in the building at all except for me. It was dark and creepy. I almost felt better when people were running amuck and calling me Madonna. I walked home at a quick pace to find the house exactly as I had left it. My notebook was open, my worksheet, unfinished, lay there unmoved on top of my English book.

I walked into the living room and turned on the news. The clock on the wall read twelve minutes to eight. I couldn't have been gone that long, could I? Did it take that long to put Kelly to bed? Did it really take forever to ditch 'celebrity guy' and Mrs. North long enough to try to convince Gina not to jump (which hadn't worked)? Nothing was on TV but a pair of black eyes with golden, unaturally moving swirls. The owner of the eyes spoke, but it was muffled. I turned off the TV."What a crazy day- uh, no pun intended. Where are my parents?" I checked the phone to see if they had tried to call the house, but all I got only a messege from Uncle Leonard who spoke of pixies being after him because he owed them money... or something like that. Then I made a sandwhich in silence. I didn't like being alone in the house. I wasn't used to it. I'm pretty sure my parents stayed with me at home in case I had some sort of relapse and somehow got my memories back, but as far as I know, I never did. The only thing I could think to do as the night replayed in my head was to turn on the proch light in case my parents did get home safely, go to my room, and I began to type.

Monday, November 30, 2002- The whole city went insane. Kelly knows about my abilities, might have that ability to seek out others like us, like me. Heard someone thinking about jumping from the roof. It was Gina. Thought she was a Charmed One out to save her sisters. Has real wings (!) and is also one with abilities.

After I typed that, I sat on my bed and thought about that night, worrying about my parents. Had they also been effected by the craziness? Like Uncle Leonard had? Why wasn't I? I just sat there, back against the wall, watching the minutes on my Betty Boop clock tick away. It was too quiet, but having any music would have distracted me from the clues I had just gotten for this mystery... or maybe these were clues to a whole new mystery- a mini mystery, well, not so mini, if you ask me- that also needed to be solved. Though I watched the clock for what felt like hours, I don't know if I actually saw it most of that time. I sat, I stood, I paced, I lie down, I tossed, I turned... My mind seemed to do the same. 'Mom, Dad, whewre ARE you?' I thought. Finally, I took a lesbian romance novel off of my shelf and began to read. No, not read, stare at the words and watch as they blurred together. '...' I needed something to keep my mind off of things. It didn't quite work, but I was soon lulled to sleep once I finally could get a handle on the summer day described in the book.

I stand before the door, and I am angry. I grab the doorknob. It is locked, like I knew it would be. My anger becomes almost wild as I turn the knob both ways to force it open. Then I pound on the door, screaming "Let me in! Tell me what you know! Let me in!" From behind the door, the voices are loud, yet I still only understand,

'No yet, Gabby... Not yet...'

"Why not now? Let me in! Give me back my memories! Tell me what you know! Tell me why he's sorry! God DAMN it, let me in!" My rage scares me, but I need to open this door.

'Not yet, Gabby, not-'

An urgent knocking scared me out of my sleep, and I was grateful. I could feel my rage still, and just like in my dream, it scared the hell out of me. 'Have I ever been that pissed off?' I wonder to myself. 'Not in my recent memories, the ones I still have.' I thought, answering my own question as I walked through the house towards the front door. The clock on the stove, the only light in the house then, said it was almost fifteen minutes to five a.m. As the rage slowly died down, I stood hesitantly at the front door. I was afraid to open it. It could easily be Uncle Leonard, but because of the fact that he hadn't just opened the door and let himself in, it could have been the police coming to tell me that the craziness had affected them in some way and they were either in jail or dead. I turned on a light and looked through the peep hole. It was Dinah. She had been crying, and even before I opened the door I felt the static, just like the first time I heard the humming, only it was all very strong, and the buzzing again got louder in my head. I closed my eyes trying to get used to the feeling. When I saw her face, she looked as if she had just wiped away a fresh batch of tears.

"Dinah." I said, surprised she was there so early in the morning, but glad she was okay. She wore a leather jacket that I had never seen on her before, and there was a cut on her hand not unlike the ones I got from the glass in the school. There was a red mark on her eye, and it looked almost like she'd gotten hit in the face a couple of times. There were tiny glass shards in her hair and some on her shoulders that looked almost like diamonds in the porch light. There was a little bit of blood on the shirt inside her jacket, but I couldn't see its source and hoped that it wasn't hers. I also noticed a tiny rip on the right knee of her pants. She looked like she was in quite the scuffle.

"I'm sorry to wake you-"

"No-no, it's okay. The whole city went fuckin' mad, and I've been here most of the night scared. Are you okay? You look like you just got out of a fight." I asked as I let her inside. She didn't answer me for a long time. She was in deep thought, and I could tell she was thinking about Ms. Gordon, and she felt bad for her. She almost pitied her, knowing that Ms. Gordon wouldn't want that pity. "Dinah?" She looked up at me from her gaze on the floor. She swallowed many times, trying to get the right words.

"Yes," she whispered, her voice slightly louder with each word that followed, "it has been... a- a crazy night. Gabby, I can't stay long. I have to get back to the Cl-" She stopped. "The clan. My family. I have to help clean up." I nodded in understanding, and was about to ask if she would like me to help so I could get something to do, but she continued to speak.

"I..." she couldn't seem to look at me, almost as if she didn't have the strength needed. "I just came to see if you were okay, and- and to..." I felt dread. Whatever it was she was going to say to me, it wasn't something she wanted to say. I had an inkling I already knew. "To tell you that-" She looked up at me suddenly, and her eyes glittered with tears yet to be shed.

"Gabby, we can't be friends anymore." Though a split second before that moment I knew what she had to say, I hadn't expected my head and my heart to start pounding painfully at different rhythems. I put my left knuckle to my pounding forhead, and made my elbow squeeze against my chest as a way to try in vane to ease both pains.

"Can..." I couldn't think of what to say. "Why?" I asked in what sounded like a kitten's mew. I walked slowly to the dining room table and sat down in a chair, resuming that position. Dinah knelt on the floor by the chair and looked up at me. I felt a growing sense of grief from the both of us.

"I want you to know... that everything but the way I will always charish the friendship you've shown me the last two months was a lie." I looked down at her from the side of my fist. I was confused by this statement, even though I could feel it was the truth. "There's so much you don't know about me, Gabby. So much has happened- will continue to happen that I cannot tell you about. My life and my mind is so messed up that I'd only continue to hurt and disappoint you. I would rather do it just once, then you can move on and be with friends that can be honest with you, than to reel you into a vicious cycle." I couldn't move or speak, trying my hardest to understand what she was trying to say to me, what she was really meaning by her explaination. She used my knee to help her up, and then she hugged me, her head going over my right shoulder, and both of our right cheeks touched. My fist was about an inch from my face then. "I know you, Gabby," she murmured in my ear, "I know you'll understand and forgive me." Dinah then moved away a little, placed a lingering kiss on my forehead, and stood up completely.

"Someday." She watched me, our eyes meeting, and we stared at each other. Then she walked away from me and let herself out.

For a long time I sat there unable to do anything but hold my head, thinking about everything that had happened. I felt more alone and confused than ever. Everything replayed, and then my mind got to the part that had just happened, I felt tears run down my cheeks. I put my head down on the table and I began to sob, which only made my head and my heart hurt worse.

She stands at the end of the hallway. My heart continues to pound. My head feels numb. She motions for me to go to her. I'm afraid of her leaving me again, so I stand where I am, not moving. She turns and touches the door. My door. I can hear the voices now, even down the hallway, and they are so clear. 'Now Gabby.' At this, I run. "NOW?" I only take one step, and I am there in front of the door. In front of her. She looks at me with sad eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Gabby," I don't know what to say to her, so I say nothing to that, and turn towards the door. I try the knob, but as always, it is locked. I pound on it only once.

"Stop lying to me!" I scream, feeling that rage come back, "For once in my life, stop lying to me!" A hand is on my shoulder. She looks into my eyes, saying nothing at first.

"I'm so sorry, Gabby." She removes her hand from my shoulder and touches the door again. Then her hand, arm and shoulder all disappear through it, then everything else save her other arm up to her elbow. She motions again for me to follow. I try to grab her hand, but it isn't solid. The door, however, is. I watch as my hand goes through hers, and scrapes against the door. I hear a clicking sound, and I look to see the handle rattling rapidly, the it suddenly stops. Nothing. All is still for a moment, and I am scared to move.

"NOW GABBY!" It is so loud, it scares me and excites me at the same time. I slowly reach for the doorknob again and turn it. It's unlocked! Quickly, I push it open and see all white. Bright white. I have to shield my eyes from it. Suddenly, I hear a scream. "!"